Joe Silva's Shoes: What's next for the UFC Fight Night 31 winners?

“UFC Fight Night 31: Fight for the Troops 3″ was a night planned to benefit a good cause, and it did just that with a compelling night of MMA action.

Tim Kennedy was the shining star of the evening with a knockout of Rafael Natal in the main event to prove he is far more than just a relentless grinder inside the cage.

Kennedy (17-4 MMA, 2-0 UFC) couldn’t have closed out the show in a more spectacular fashion, as a clean left hook to the chin knocked Natal (17-5-1 MMA, 5-3-1 UFC) down and out, giving the 34-year-old his first knockout win since 2007.

After every event, fans wonder whom the winners will be matched up with next. And with another night of UFC action in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look forward, put on a pair of Joe Silva’s (and Sean Shelby’s) shoes, and play UFC matchmaker.

MICHAEL CHIESA
Should Fight:Tony FergusonWhy They Should Fight: The UFC is all about matching “The Ultimate Fighter” reality show winners against each other as of late, and in terms of rankings, this one actually makes a lot of sense.

Some may consider Tony Ferguson (13-3 MMA, 4-1 UFC) higher than Michael Chiesa (10-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) after his submission win over Mike Rio last month, but “El Cucuy” is coming off a long layoff and needs some mid-tier opponents before rebuilding momentum.

Both men possess similar strengths and with each having earned a “Submission of the Night” bonus in their most recent trips to the octagon, that just adds one more dynamic to this intriguing matchup.

RUSTAM KHABILOV
Should Fight:Bobby GreenWhy They Should Fight: In a matchup of two UFC Fight Night 31 winners, Rustam Khabilov and Bobby Green seem suited to face each other after defeating their respective opponents.

While Khabilov (17-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) got a narrow decision victory over Jorge Masvidal on the main card and Green (21-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) scored a controversial knockout of James Krause on the prelims, both men managed to stay undefeated under the UFC banner.

Seeing as they fought just minutes after each other and came out relatively free of injury, Khabilov and Green share an identical fight schedule, which means lining them up to fight would be relatively easy.

Some are calling for a rematch between Green and Krause after the borderline kick that ended their fight, but at this point a fight with Khabilov is much more attractive.

YOEL ROMERO
Should Fight: Winner of Thales Leites vs. Ed Herman at UFC 167Why They Should Fight: Yoel Romero has looked like a wrecking ball since joining the UFC middleweight ranks and the Cuban impressed once again versus Ronny Markes on Wednesday.

Romero’s (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) back-to-back knockout wins in the UFC have got him noticed and the 2000 Olympic medalist in wrestling is gradually moving toward becoming a player in the middleweight division.

For his next contest, Romero needs someone with a familiar name who can test him on the ground with submissions if it goes there, but also hang on the feet if need be.

Thales Leites (21-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Ed Herman (21-9 MMA, 8-5 UFC), who meet at UFC 167 next weekend, have both been around the block and have the experience in the octagon to truly measure Romero’s ceiling in the sport. Something, considering his age of 36, needs to be revealed sooner than later.

ALEXIS DAVIS
Should Fight:Sara McMannWhy They Should Fight: The UFC women’s bantamweight division is becoming a very exciting place and after defeating Liz Carmouche (9-4 MMA, 1-2 UFC) by unanimous decision, Alexis Davis is now on the short-list of contenders for Ronda Rousey‘s title.

If all goes according to plan, Rousey and Miesha Tate will battle for the belt at UFC 168 next month with the winner moving on to face Cat Zingano, who earned a title shot earlier this year.

While Davis (15-5 MMA, 2-0 UFC) may be the odd woman out of that equation, she is certainly not far behind in the conversation and with one more win could find herself in line for a championship fight in 2014.

In order to do that, though, she’ll need to knock off another credible 135-pound contender, and former Olympic Silver medalist in wrestling Sara McMann is about as legit as they come.

McMann (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) has been nursing an injury since winning her UFC debut earlier this year, but hopefully she’ll be ready to return to competition in the coming months for a contender’s showdown with Davis.

The stakes would be high for this potential matchup and hopefully it will come to fruition.

TIM KENNEDY
Should Fight:Tim BoetschWhy They Should Fight: Even though Tim Kennedy achieved victory in a UFC main event for what is arguably the biggest accomplishment of his MMA career, it’s delusional to think the win is equivalent to other main-event fighters.

By no means is that a shot at the skills of Kennedy or Rafael Natal, but most UFC main event fights will carry the winner into a top-10 ranking or title contention. That’s simply just not the case in this situation.

What Kennedy did earn with the win, though, is a realistic chance to move into the rankings by facing a relevant fighter in the weight class.

Most of the big names in the division are either injured, coming off a loss or booked for a fight, but one name that doesn’t carry any of those attributes is Tim Boetsch.

Boetsch (17-6 MMA, 8-5 UFC) may not ever been champion. However, he is a guy who has and is capable of defeating elite fighters. He would provide a stern test as to how far Kennedy can go in the weight class.

Kennedy got somewhat shafted out of his chance to make a real impression on fans when Lyoto Machida was pulled from Wednesday’s card, and while Boetsch is obviously no Machida, “The Barbarian” is still a name who can benefit Kennedy in his UFC career.

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